Links
Archives
I realize I am not THAT interesting so instead of a personal blog I choose to blog on what I think will be useful to the people that take the time to read it: Current (and not so current) news, free stuff, great/neat/interesting websites, useful products or software, and anything else that I want to share with the world.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Man vs. Wild: Season 2 Episode 4
Bear Grylls recommends drinking urine to stay alive if you don't have water.
I have researched this for quite some time and I have found people on both sides of the issue (whether it is advisable to drink your urine in a survival situation), however the majority of the experts I have read about recommend NOT drinking urine as it does more harm than good.
(Please note that sterile does not mean potable- bleach is sterile, free from microorganisms, but it is not safe to drink)
I cite the following sources:
Equipped.com (a survival website) says: "Never drink blood or urine. They will only hasten dehydration."
simplesurvival.net says: "Do not drink urine. It is a waste product of a body and is just that, waste (think about that for a second…when a body passes urine, it is not longer need or useful). Drinking urine can even make you sick." (You should see the credentials of the author: Master Sergeant Gary L. Benton)
Adventure Sports Online gives 5 basic survival tips and I quote: "Never drink urine."
USGI Canteen Group: "Also, don't drink urine or sea water. Some folks say that it's saved their lives, but there is no evidence to back this up. Both contain high levels of toxins that cannot be filtered out except by distillation or reverse osmosis."
Wilderness-Survival.net "Do not drink urine."
US Army Field Manual 21-76, Chapter 6.
Dr. Elfarr, Urologist and president of the Texas Urological Society.
("In general, it is not beneficial to ingest one's own urine during times of starvation and/or dehydration. The urine at those times is concentrated with high sodium, other electrolyte and mineral content. This is counterproductive when one is dehydrated."
Tom Brown Jr. ("head of the largest tracking and wilderness survival school in the U.S." )
"Don't drink urine (unless you've first purified it by means of a solar still) because doing so will increase your body's rate of dehydration."
If you would like to offer a counter argument saying that it is beneficial to drink urine in a survival situation please by all means contact me!
--
To be fair let me add three sources for "pro-urine consumption" (?):
Bear Grylls (Man vs Wild: Season 2, Episode 4)
Aron Ralston (author of Between a Rock and a Hard Place a story where as a stranded solo hiker he was forced to cut off his own arm) drank his own urine and although the acidity of the urine burned his mouth he survived. "Sip after sip of acidic urine has eroded my gums and left my palate raw."
A man in Egypt gets trapped in a fallen building, drinks his own urine and survives. His child and wife chose not to drink their urine, and they died. (Story cites: Tom Brokaw, NBC Nightly News, October 16, 1992)
To me, these aren't enough to go against all the evidence on the other side, but let me know what you think!
Bear Grylls recommends drinking urine to stay alive if you don't have water.
I have researched this for quite some time and I have found people on both sides of the issue (whether it is advisable to drink your urine in a survival situation), however the majority of the experts I have read about recommend NOT drinking urine as it does more harm than good.
(Please note that sterile does not mean potable- bleach is sterile, free from microorganisms, but it is not safe to drink)
I cite the following sources:
Equipped.com (a survival website) says: "Never drink blood or urine. They will only hasten dehydration."
simplesurvival.net says: "Do not drink urine. It is a waste product of a body and is just that, waste (think about that for a second…when a body passes urine, it is not longer need or useful). Drinking urine can even make you sick." (You should see the credentials of the author: Master Sergeant Gary L. Benton)
Adventure Sports Online gives 5 basic survival tips and I quote: "Never drink urine."
USGI Canteen Group: "Also, don't drink urine or sea water. Some folks say that it's saved their lives, but there is no evidence to back this up. Both contain high levels of toxins that cannot be filtered out except by distillation or reverse osmosis."
Wilderness-Survival.net "Do not drink urine."
US Army Field Manual 21-76, Chapter 6.
Dr. Elfarr, Urologist and president of the Texas Urological Society.
("In general, it is not beneficial to ingest one's own urine during times of starvation and/or dehydration. The urine at those times is concentrated with high sodium, other electrolyte and mineral content. This is counterproductive when one is dehydrated."
Tom Brown Jr. ("head of the largest tracking and wilderness survival school in the U.S." )
"Don't drink urine (unless you've first purified it by means of a solar still) because doing so will increase your body's rate of dehydration."
If you would like to offer a counter argument saying that it is beneficial to drink urine in a survival situation please by all means contact me!
--
To be fair let me add three sources for "pro-urine consumption" (?):
Bear Grylls (Man vs Wild: Season 2, Episode 4)
Aron Ralston (author of Between a Rock and a Hard Place a story where as a stranded solo hiker he was forced to cut off his own arm) drank his own urine and although the acidity of the urine burned his mouth he survived. "Sip after sip of acidic urine has eroded my gums and left my palate raw."
A man in Egypt gets trapped in a fallen building, drinks his own urine and survives. His child and wife chose not to drink their urine, and they died. (Story cites: Tom Brokaw, NBC Nightly News, October 16, 1992)
To me, these aren't enough to go against all the evidence on the other side, but let me know what you think!
